Though many extremists operate businesses online,
doing so can require considerable time and effort. Using the Internet to
promote the products of others is less demanding but still profitable.

Selling Ads Online

The promotion of such products commonly involves
placing ads on Web sites. Don Black charges an advertiser on his Stormfront
Web site up to $15 for every 1,000 times someone views his ad, and Black
claims that Stormfront welcomes nearly 3,500 visitors per week. The
racist Council of Conservative Citizens Web site encourages readers to
inquire about advertising rates for its "Shop-Right" page, an
"On-Line Market for Southern Patriots & Euro-Folk" that
features ads for an anti-immigration book, Confederate flag bumper
stickers, and other items. While some extremists do charge advertisers,
the payment many receive for accepting ads comes in the form of services,
not cash. Many Web site hosting services used by extremists do not charge
their customers but instead bring in revenue by selling space for ads on
the sites created by those customers.

Taking Advantage of Non-Extremist Businesses: Referral Fees

Some online businesses pay extremists a flat fee for
each new customer they refer. PayPal, a legitimate online payment service
that does not hold extremist views and has upwards of six million
customers, gives registered users $5 for each friend they persuade to open
an account. Extremist groups such as World Church of the Creator (WCOTC),
Panzerfaust Records, and Sigrdrifa have referred their supporters to
PayPal. "This is a very easy way to raise much-needed funds for our
holy struggle," commented Brother John B. of WCOTC in an E-mail
message to the WCOTC Women’s Frontier mailing list. Tom Metzger promises
extremists $50 for each project referred to the "website construction
division" of his group White Aryan Resistance (WAR), calling this
opportunity "a clean and quick way to help finance your
operations."

Other companies pay Internet users who refer
customers a percentage of the items sold to those customers instead of a
flat fee. Amazon.com offers registered "Associates" rewards of
up to 15% of the purchase price of items bought by customers they have
referred. Web sites for the Holocaust denial organization Committee for
Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH) and white supremacist publisher 14
Word Press have taken advantage of this opportunity. WCOTC actively
encourages its members to create Web sites for participation in online
affiliate marketing programs such as LinkShare and Commission Junction,
thereby "generating revenue for WCOTC." Fearful of rejection
from these programs on ideological grounds, WCOTC urges members to refrain
from openly expressing their racism on sites they create for this purpose